Orchid Ridge
by SOS Radio
Summary: After a disappearance of an old friend and his Pokemon in a small town, a young trainer tries to uncover the truth. However, the closer he comes to finding answers, the more conspiracies the town of Orchid Ridge is faced with. Meanwhile, another young trainer finds himself getting involved with the local crime boss and things may be more connected that they seem. OC's accepted.
1. Thursday Night

**Thursday Night**

Milo Jetton yawned and rubbed his eyes as he continued reading a chapter from _The Biology of Tepig_. Until he found another job, Milo knew that the majority of his weeknights would be spent in his room studying after he came home from battling team practice. He closed the book and glanced at Raichu, who was curled up and fast asleep on his bed. He felt himself dozing off, but before he could fall asleep at his desk, the door to his room opened and Milo jumped up.

"Why are you so jumpy?" his father asked as he walked into the room. Mick Jetton was a large man with tanned skin, serious dark brown eyes, and an intimidating build that he had maintained even after retiring from the military. He kept his head shaven, but Milo could not recall his father ever going to a barber. He assumed that he either shaved his head himself or that his hair was simply too afraid of him to grow back. Either option seemed possible.

Mr. Jetton looked around for a moment and arched an eyebrow. "Milo, if you're hiding another girl in here, you're going to be in more trouble than you can imagine."

"No girls, Dad…" Milo replied with a yawn. "It's just me, Raichu, and a science book. Feel free to search the closet or look under the bed. You probably won't find any girls, but maybe you'll find something of interest."

"You know that mouth of yours is going to get you into a lot of situations when you go away to college in a couple of years," Mr. Jetton said. "Anyway, you've studied enough for tonight. I need you to go pick up a pizza from _Ronnie Rapidash_." He glanced over to Raichu. "And take that rodent with you."

Milo let out a fake gasp as he stood up. "Dad, that's no way to talk about Lulu!"

"Just…go…" he said as he tried to stifle his laughter. "I'll let you take my car, but it better come back in one piece or…"

"I'll be in pieces?" Milo finished.

"That's my boy," Mr. Jetton said as he patted his son on the back and left the room.

Milo threw on his shoes and quietly approached Raichu. He knew that he had to be gentle when waking the electric Pokémon or he would be shocked with enough volts to send him to the hospital. However, before Milo could reach him, his cell phone went off and Raichu's eyes shot open. He yawned and let off a few sparks from his tail, but Milo was cautious enough to move a few steps back.

"_Raaaai!"_ he said with another yawn as he got out of bed.

"We have to go pick up a pizza," Milo informed him as he checked his phone. "I figured it was from Trevor. There's a party at his place on Saturday. I guess it'll be alright if we go hang out for a bit. Anyway, come on, we need to get going."

Milo and Raichu quickly made their way out of his room and down the stairs, avoiding Plusle and Minun as the young Pokémon ran around the house. Milo spotted his mother sitting at the table in the kitchen working on what appeared to be a jigsaw puzzle. She looked up and smiled when she heard him entering.

"Would you like to help me, Milo?" she asked in her slight accent. "Puzzles are good for your mind. A strong mind helps build a healthy body."

"I'd love to, Mom," he told her. "But I have to go pick up the pizza before Dad's hair fall out…well, he doesn't have any on his head, but his eyebrows can go at any moment."

Milo went to grab the keys off of the counter before going into the living room and retrieving his letterman jacket from the coat rack. The jacket was blue and light gray with black sleeves. On the back of it was a logo of Glalie, the school mascot. Milo considered the jacket his pride and joy, mainly because it looked cool, but also because it reminded him of how much he had grown as a trainer and as a person in general. He could not bear to imagine what his life would be like had he not gone on his journey a few years ago.

"_Wait, Milo, we're coming too!"_

His thoughts were interrupted by his sister rushing into the living room with Plusle and Minun following close behind. The ten-year old grabbed her coat and Milo had the urge to complain, but did not go through with it. Lulu could be irritating at times, but there would only be more drama with her if he did not allow her to come with him. Every time that Milo saw her shoulder-length dark hair, olive skin, and brown eyes, he remembered how people would often say that she looked like him in a wig and how much it bothered her. For his part, Milo did not see an exact replica. They had the same skin tone and thin faces that they had inherited from their mother. However, Lulu's eyes were dark brown while his was light and her hair was a mousy brown color while his was jet black.

"_Miiii_!"

"_Pluuuu_!"

"_Raaai!"_

Lulu led the Pokémon outside as Milo informed their mother that they were leaving and closed the door.

"We're taking Dad's car," he told his sister.

"Good, then I got front seat!" Lulu replied. "Sorry, Raichu, Plusle and Minun will keep you company in the backseat though."

"_Rai_…" he uttered as the two young Pokémon gave off mischievous grins.

After everyone was inside the car, Milo made sure that he had all of his poké balls on him before hopping in and pulling out of the driveway.

* * *

The ride to the restaurant had not been too grating for Milo. Lulu had spent most of the time singing to the radio while Raichu was in the backseat being tortured by Plusle and Minun and Milo was watching the road. He had driven down the path so often that he was almost certain that he could do it blindfolded. Orchid Ridge was a small town compared to the ones in Kanto that he had visited on his journey. It had gotten its name from all the flowers that bloomed in the spring around the ridge and Milo was not sure what region it was a part of. The town was the closest to Kanto, but did not consider itself part of that region. It was just a lone settlement on a ridge in the middle of nowhere.

"It's been a while since I've actually been to _Ronnie Rapidash's Pizzeria_…" Milo thought aloud. "Dad was just too cheap to have it delivered."

"Well, come on!" Lulu said. "I'm starving! Let's go get it. You have the money, right?"

Milo suddenly wondered if Freddie Pierce was working at the pizzeria today and if he could find a way to get a discount. He had never been too passionate about battling and did not decide to get a job at the battling center like most of the teenagers in town. He had been best friends with Milo when they were children, but they drifted apart when Milo returned from his journey and started hanging out with Trevor Gage and the other athletes. While he did somewhat regret allowing himself to grow apart from Freddie, he was more than happy to end his 'friendship' with Zane Mattel. Just thinking about the infuriating smirk that his rival always had on when he was causing chaos was enough to make Milo's blood boil. He was one of the few people who could truly upset him.

"Alright everyone, let's get out," Milo told them. "Lulu, make sure your Pokémon don't destroy anything in the restaurant."

"Yeah…whatever…" she responded in an annoyed tone.

They headed inside of the small pizzeria and found it surprisingly busy as they quickly got in line. The workers behind the counter were moving from place to place and Milo was confused as to what was going on. The manager, Ronnie, was at the cash register when they finally made it to the front of the line.

"Ronnie, what the hell is going on here?" he asked.

"Short on workers…" the portly man answered. "I can understand the other two calling in sick…but it's not like Freddie to miss work. What's worse, he didn't even call in. He just didn't show up. I tried to call his phone twice, but no answer. You have any clue where he might be up to?"

Milo shook his head. He and Freddie only talked a few times a month at most and it was usually just a quick greeting when they passed each other in the hallway at school.

"I'm sure he probably has a good reason for bailing on you though," Milo stated. "He'll definitely show up tomorrow and explain what happened. If not, I'll talk to him at school and see what's up."

Ronnie nodded his head before giving Milo the pizza and bidding the young man goodbye. He led the others out of the restaurant and ignored Plusle and Minun trying to get the pizza out of his hands. Milo thought about Freddie and remembered the rumors of people disappearing lately, but quickly shook the thought out of his head. No one from his school that he knew of had vanished and Freddie was likely sick with one of his usual ailments.

"Do you see that car up there, Milo?" Lulu suddenly asked. "Is it…"

Milo quickly looked up and saw a red and black sports car approaching at a fast pace. He knew exactly who it was and cursed himself for not hurrying out of the restaurant. The fact that he had absolutely no back up made the situation much worse. Milo handed the box of pizza to Lulu before stuffing the keys in her hands.

"Get in the car and lock the door," he told her urgently before turning to the Pokémon. "Plusle, Minun, go with Lulu and if anything happens, be prepared to go all out. Raichu, get ready for a battle."

"I'm not afraid of them!" Lulu yelled at her brother. "And I'm not leaving you alone to battle them."

Milo shot her the most terrifying glare that he could muster and after a few seconds, Lulu growled in defeat before heading to the car with her Pokémon. Raichu let off a few sparks and stared forward with determination. Once he heard the doors lock, Milo reached for Floatzel's poké ball as the sports car crept up beside him. The car stopped and two young men in camouflage jackets emerged from both sides. The white octagonal logo on their shirts confirmed Milo's suspicions and he knew he had no choice but to battle.

"Alright, kid…" one of them said in a tone of disinterest. "Just hand over all of the Pokémon and no one has to get hurt."

"Check out the jacket, man," the second one started with a grin. "He's part of the battling team over at the high school. That means his Pokémon must have some value!"

"That is a nice jacket…" the first man remarked. "Hand that over too."

Milo did not say a word and stared them down. They did not appear to have any weapons aside from the poké balls attached to their belts and although Milo was scared, he did not have a choice but to stand and try and take on the thugs. Lulu was likely watching from the car and he had to stay calm in order to keep her from doing something rash. He glanced at Raichu and let out a deep breath before returning his attention to the thugs.

"If you want this jacket…" he began. "You have to earn it just like I did."

"That sounds like a challenge to me!" the second man said as he reached for a poké ball. "Come on, let's wipe the floor with this punk…"

"Sounds like a plan…" the first thug added. "Show us what you got, kid…"

Milo strangely found himself thinking of what his father had said earlier about his mouth being the death of him and he could picture his _'I told you so'_ face. He also realized that all of this could have been avoided had his father simply had the pizza delivered to the house in the first place. It always led back to Mick Jetton even in life-threatening situations. He had to admit that the man had a powerful presence.

"Let's do this…"

Milo took one last breath and tossed Floatzel's poké ball in the air.

* * *

**A/N: It looks like our protagonist has found himself in a predicament already. And they say nothing ever happens on Thursdays. **

**Mega thanks to my good friend, Money Stax for helping me out on this even if he came over my apartment and drank all my lemonade. This is a sort-of collaboration, but I'll be doing the majority of the actual writing with a lot of input from Stax since we have a very similar style. **

**OC's are accepted at my forum or by PM. Feel free to PM either one of us if you have a question. The OC form is in my profile.**

**Adios!**


	2. Past Thoughts

**Past Thoughts**

The more he stared at the two thugs, the more Milo recognized them. Their names were Thom Barb and Doc Nelson. They had been two years ahead of him in school and both had dropped out at in the middle of their junior year. Milo remembered how much trouble they would cause around campus and was happy to see the back of them when they had left school. To see them now wearing the camouflage jackets and octagon symbols affiliated with the newest Kanto criminal gang was no shock to him.

"You know, kid, some of our friends drove up on another guy a couple of months ago," Thom explained as he tossed his poké ball in the air. A vicious looking Mightyena emerged as Thom looked over at his partner. "You remember that story, Doc?"

"Yeah," the other thug answered as he nodded his head. "I heard they rammed into him with their car and took all of his Pokémon. They say that guy still hasn't woken up."

Milo knew exactly who the two were talking about and he quickly felt his face redden in anger, but he was well aware that he needed to stay calm if he hoped to win. He took a deep breath and regained his focus. Doc unleashed a Nuzleaf from its poké ball and Milo immediately went on the offensive.

"Raichu!" he commanded. "Double Team! Floatzel, Aqua Jet!"

Raichu's body began glowing white as copies of the electric rodent surrounded the two opponents. Before they could react, Floatzel surrounded herself in water and collided into Mightyena with enough force to send the dark Pokémon three feet into the air. Floatzel changed her directions to Mightyena's trainer and with a mischievous grin, leaped onto his head. She grabbed the hood of Thom's jacket and yanked it over his eyes.

"Get this thing off me!" he yelled as he flailed around.

"Nuzleaf!" Doc shouted. "Use-

"Discharge!" Milo ordered before Doc could finish his command. "Full power!"

"_Raaaaaaichuuu!"_

Raichu unleashed multiple bolts of yellow electricity all around the street and Milo had to be careful not to be hit himself. It was enough to put Mightyena down, but Nuzleaf managed to get back to his feet in time to see Floatzel now heading towards his trainer. She pulled the hood of Doc's jacket over his head and he immediately began floundering around until he collided into Thom. After a few more seconds the two thugs came to their senses and prepared to continue the battle until the door to the pizzeria opened and Old Man Ronnie came out wielding a baseball bat.

"Get off my property before I call the police!" he demanded as he took a warning swing at Doc's head.

Milo could tell that the troublemakers were not stupid enough to continue a fight they had no hope in winning. They recalled their Pokémon and quickly sped off in the red and black sports car. Milo looked down at Floatzel and gave her a proud smile. For once, her impish behavior had come out in his favor. Recalling Floatzel and Raichu to their poké balls, Milo thanked Ronnie for his help.

"You did a good job, kid," Ronnie told him. "When you see Freddie tomorrow, tell him to get it in gear and get to work!"

"Got it…"

Milo shook hands with the old man and made his way back to the truck where he spotted his sister and her Pokémon devouring the pizza. He opened the door and slid inside the driver's seat before resting his head on the wheel.

"You did…alright…" Lulu told him in between bites. "But if you would've let me battle with you, we would've won in five seconds."

"Not a word about this to Mom and especially not to Dad," Milo told her sternly. "Understood?"

"Whatever," Lulu replied. "Just take me home…"

* * *

The drive home was spent in silence. Milo was in deep thought and Lulu seemed to be more focused on the pizza than anything else. When they arrived at the house, Lulu and her Pokémon got out of the truck, but Milo remained inside.

"Aren't you coming?" Lulu asked her brother.

"I forgot to pick something up at the store…" he told her. "Just tell Dad that I'll be back in twenty minutes."

Before Lulu could ask any more questions, Milo pulled out of the yard and started down the road. It was a short drive, but the closer Milo got to his destination, the tighter his chest became. He saw the familiar houses out of the window as he passed by and after a few more minutes, he found himself in front of his old house in his old neighborhood. Milo had repeatedly told himself that he should stop returning there, but there was something that prevented him from doing so. He stepped out of the truck and stared at the empty house.

"Alright, Raichu. Let's-"

Milo stopped himself when he remembered that Raichu was in his poké ball and decided not to bother him. He focused on the house and like always, began comparing it to his new home. Milo's new home was much larger, nicer-looking, and in a much more decent neighborhood. In contrast, his old home was smaller and had started becoming decrepit in the three years since his family had moved. The wooden fence that separated the better-looking house next door was broken in several places. It was that house that Milo had spent nearly all his time at as a child with his best friend.

"_Freddie's house_. _Yeah, I almost forgot what it looked like too. Mediocre just like him I suppose_…"

Milo turned in the direction of the voice. Standing behind him was a thin and lanky-looking young man with blue-green eyes and dark red hair that he had gelled back. On his face was an infuriating smirk and it took every fiber of Milo's being not to get in the trunk and run over the boy's foot. By the boy's side was a Sandslash with the same grin as his trainer.

"I guess this wonderful night wouldn't be complete without you showing up," Milo remarked sarcastically. "What do you want, Zane?"

"Hey, I was just driving through when I saw you stalking," the red-haired boy shot back, never losing his smirk. "So, how's life been treating you? Hanging out with all the spoiled rich kids and attending all those nice parties must really be taking a lot out of you."

"And I guess hanging out with all these wannabe gangsters that have been cropping up in town must be taking a lot out of you," Milo shot back. "Nice Team Rocket shirt. It's nice to know that you still support a gang that was disbanded years ago."

Zane let out a laugh. "Hey, once a Team Rocket fan, always a Team Rocket fan. And besides, come on. Freddie was always going to be a loser anyway and you know it…"

"Shut up…" Milo snapped.

"See, that's what makes me different from you, Milo. I'll admit the uncomfortable truths. Don't worry, you can tell me what you really think. As you can tell by the empty yard next door, Freddie's not home at the moment, so I'll keep it between you and me."

"I'm leaving…" Milo stated clearly as he started for the truck.

"That's fine," Zane called after him. "By the way, congratulations on your battle earlier…"

Milo's eyes widened and he thought of pressing the issue, but at the moment, he just wanted to get out of there more than anything. Zane Mattel had a talent for putting people on the edge with words alone and Milo was no different. He drove off in a hurry, anxious to get home and forget the entire night.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry about the long wait everyone. My place burned down due to a neighbor and a lit cigarette and bad luck. But no worries anymore, that situation has been taken care of. Once again, thanks to my pal Stax for helping me out with this chapter, specifically the battle. The OC's will start appearing next chapter as well and next chapter should be out much sooner and be much longer. I think I'll accept OC's for a little while longer (by PM or forum), so hurry and get them in before time runs out. **

**Adios! **


End file.
